IRLF 


35D 


EXCHANGE 


THE 


BV    LLIOM    DEL     VALCHIUSA. 


BOSTON: 

MARSH,     CAPEN,      LYON,    &    WEBB 
1840. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by 

GEORGE  F.  MAN, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office,  of  the  District  Court  of  Rhode  Islund, 


- -, 


TORREY    AND    BLAIR,    PRINTERS, 

No.  11  Devonshire  street,  Boston. 


THE  GERANIUM  LEAF. 


"  So  che  spesso  tra  i  fiori  e  le  fronde 
Pur  la  serpe  s'asconde,  s'aggfira  ; 
So  che  in  aria  talvolta  s'ammira, 
Una  stella  che  stella  mm  c." 

SOME  years  ago,  whilst  detained  on  the 
continent,  where  I  had  stopt  to  arrange 
some  affairs  on  my  way  to  England  after  a 
long  and  weary  absence,  I  accidentally  fell 
into  the  company  of  a  gentleman,  whose 
unquiet  and  sharp  physiognomy,  so  distin 
guishable  from  the  gravity  and  amplitude 
of  the  English  countenance,  declared  him 
to  be  one,  who,  though  speaking  the  Eng 
lish  language,  had  been  born  and  bred 
under  the  fervent  heat  of  the  great  Ameri 
can  democracy.  Though  past  the  meri 
dian  of  life,  and  laboring  under  the  ills  of 
an  impaired  constitution,  he  was  clever. 

i*      96 1 897 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 


companionable  and  polite ;  and, — excepting 
when  the  topic  of  conversation  involved  in 
some  measure  the  character  of  his  nation, 
which  he  considered  the  greatest  that  then 
was,  ever  had  been,  or  ever  would  be  again, 
— I  may  add,  exceedingly  liberal. 

But,  notwithstanding  these  and  other 
qualities  which  he  possessed,  of  a  nature 
to  invite  social  fellowship,  a  community  of 
fate  or  fortune,  rather  than  a  similitude  of 
character  or  profession,  drew  us  into  rela 
tions  of  greater  communicativeness,  than, 
considering  my  preconceived  notions  of  the 
American  people,  would  have  otherwise 
probably  been  formed;  both  of  us  being 
bachelors,  both  being  severely  afflicted 
with  the  liver  complaint,  which  he  had 
contracted  in  the  West,  and  I,  in  the  East, 
Indies,  in  which  countries  we  had  severally 
made  our  fortunes  at  the  hazard  of  our  lives, 
and  at  the  expense  of  our  health,  and,  prob 
ably,  alike  for  the  benefit  of  some  distant 
relative. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  after  a  mutual  inter- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  f 

change  of  ideas  and  information  on  va 
rious  subjects  of  general  interest,  and  I  had 
recounted  some  of  my  own  adventures, 
chiefly  illustrative  of  the  singular  coinci 
dences,  strange  combinations  of  circum 
stances,  or  odd  positions,  I  had  experienced 
in  travelling,  he  began  gradually  to  unfold 
some  of  his  own  individual  experience.  I 
say  gradually;  for  all  the  Americans,  with 
whom  I  have  ever  met,  have  so  much  of 
the  sagacity  of  an  animal  of  another  quarter 
of  the  globe,  as  never  to  plant  their  feet  in 
a  strange  place,  till  they  have  fully  recon- 
noitered  or  partially  tested  the  nature  of  the 
premises. 

At  last,  one  evening,  after  I  had  con 
cluded  an  adventure  of  my  own,  he  be 
gan  and  recounted,  with  evident  emotion, 
the  following  passages  of  his  life.  At  this 
distance  of  time,  I  should  in  vain  attempt 
to  recall  his  precise  language  without  the 
aid  of  my  journal,  but  the  substance  of 
what  he  communicated,  and  the  impression 
it  produced  on  me,  time  will  never  efface 


8  THE    GERANIUM    LEAP. 

from  my  memory.  Being  near  the  scene 
of  the  denouement  of  the  story,  he  very  nat 
urally  began  where  I  shall  leave  off.  With 
this  transposition  of  the  order,  and  occa 
sionally  some  unavoidable  variation  of  lan 
guage,  I  shall  barely  repeat  his  narration. 

I  have  already  informed  you,  said  he, 
that   I   was  born    in  one   of    the    middle 
States,  studied  medicine,  pursued  my  pro 
fession  for  many  years  in  the  West  Indies, 
and  I  am  now  travelling,  rather    with    a 
view  to  alleviate  the  tedium  of  sickness, 
than  with  any  expectation  of  regaining  the 
blessings  of  health.     My  immediate   rela 
tives    are   dead.     My    father   was   a  mer 
chant,  and  I  was  one  of  two  sons.     After 
having   been  initiated  in   the   elementary 
branches  of  education,  and  become  more 
than  ordinarily  well  versed  in  the  classics, 
a  favorite  study,  I  was  sent  to  a  university, 
in  New   England,  which   was  thought  at 
that  time  to  present  the  greatest  facilities 
for  the  acquisition  of  a  liberal  education. 
There  I  became  intimate  with  a  fellow- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  9 

student  and  classmate  from  the  southern 
country.  Nature  had  showered  upon  him 
her  choicest  gifts,  a  fond  and  seemingly 
highly-intelligent  father  had  improved  upon 
her  bounty  by  the  most  assiduous  attention 
to  his  intellectual,  moral,  and  physical  edu 
cation  ;  and  an  enthusiastic  love  of  excel 
lence,  together  with  an  untiring  eagerness 
to  respond  to  the  proud  expectations  or  to 
requite  the  noble  endeavors  of  his  father,  to 
whom  he  was  devotedly  attached,  seconded 
the  purposes  of  both.  In  person,  he  was  tall 
and  slender,  yet  athletic.  His  hair,  which 
was  light,  fine,  and  glossy,  was  parted  in 
the  midst  and  thrown  hack,  displayed  a 
high  and  ample  forehead  and  fell  in  grace 
ful  ringlets  over  his  temples.  His  eyes,  full 
and  expressive,  were  soft  blue,  his  features 
Grecian,  complexion  pale,  and  the  expres 
sion  of  his  countenance  intelligent  and  mas 
culine  in  the  highest  degree.  His  distin 
guishing  characteristics  were  an  astonishing 
warm  imagination  and  a  sensibility  of  such 


10  THE    GERANIUM     LEAF. 

acuteness  as  is  rarely  found  even  in  the  in- 
firmer  sex. 

Though    very    young,    the    grace    and 
ease   of  his  manners,    the   dignity   of  his 
deportment,  the  elevation  of  his  sentiments, 
the  extent  and  accuracy  of  his  knowledge, 
and  the  correctness  and  delicacy  of  his  taste, 
evinced  a  maturity  of  character  greatly  in 
advance  of  his  years,  and  of  all   his  com 
panions  ;  and  so  apparent  were  his  pre-em 
inent  endowments,  that  he  no  sooner  pre 
sented    himself  in  any   new   field   of  col 
legiate  competition,  than  like  the  uncased 
champion   of   the   ring,    lie    was    already 
crowned  in  the  prophetic   anticipations  of 
all.     This  supremacy  was  the  less  reluc 
tantly  accorded  to  him,  as  the  good  will 
and   admiration   inspired   hy   his  modesty 
and  exemption  from  all  emulous  feeling  as 
regarded  others,  disarmed   in  advance,  or 
rather  stifled  in  its  hirth,  the  hostility  that 
might  otherwise  have  been  provoked  by  his 
genius.     For,  though  capable  of  excelling, 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  11 

he  had  no  ambition,  and  if  he  excelled,  it 
seemed  incidental  to  his  love  of  excellence, 
or  done  with  a  view  to  gratify  those  he 
loved  and  who  were  interested  in  his  wel 
fare.  Though  not  austere,  he  was  indiffer 
ent  to  what  is  ordinarily  called  pleasure, 
and,  if  one  might  judge  from  his  disinterest 
edness  and  superiority  to  all  selfish  consid 
erations,  naturally  as  careless  of  wealth. 
As  a  love  of  whatever  is  beautiful  in  the 
works  of  Nature  and  Art  subserved  the  pur 
pose  of  a  moral  sense,  by  inspiring  him  with 
a  distaste  for  all  vicious  indulgence,  while 
withdrawing  him  from  the  converse  of  his 
fellow-students  and  the  realities  of  life,  into 
a  world  peopled  by  the  creations  of  his  own 
fancy,  it  subjected  him,  with  some,  to  the 
imputation  of  misanthropy  ;  so  an  exalted 
sympathy,  which,  lifting  him  at  once  from 
an  admiration  of  creation  to  an  adoration  of 
its  Author,  led  him  to  think  lightly  of  the 
factitious  systems  of  faith,  attracted  to  him 
the  repro'ach  of  irreligion.  By  some,  too, 
he  was  thought  too  ready  to  stake  all  for  a 


12  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

little,  for,  though  insensible  to  applause,  he 
was  extremely  sensitive  in  points  of  honor, 
and  was,  perhaps,  the  more  impatient  of 
wrong,  as  studiously  avoiding  to  inflict  it 
upon  others,  arid  deriving  from  himself  and 
a  small  circle  of  friends  the  chief  sources  of 
his  happiness,  he  felt  entitled  to  an  ex 
emption  from  the  contributions  ordinarily- 
levied  upon  forbearance  by  the  unthinking 
or  evil  minded. 

Though  cheerful,  gay,  and  even  witty  in 
his  unavoidable  intercourse  with  fellow- 
students,  he  was  naturally  of  a  melancholy 
and  retired  disposition,  fond  of  solitude  and 
intimate  with  only  myself,  and  another  gen 
tleman  from  the  same  section  of  country  as 
himself;  and  even  from  us  studiously  con 
cealed  all  knowledge  of  the  solitary  occupa 
tions  with  which  he  was  ever  busied  apart 
from  his  collegiate  studies,  as  though  intent, 
like  some  ingenuous  youth  upon  feeding  his 
fancy  with  the  growth  of  some  beautiful 
bubble  which  he  hoped  to  make  radiant 
with  every  ravishing  hue,  and  whose  ex- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  13 

panding  fragility  he  feared  to  expose,  even 
to  the  breath  of  friendship.  His  greatest 
social  delight  was  in  unbosoming  his  feel 
ings  to  me  and  his  other  friend,  in  convers 
ing  of  his  father  and  a  lady  at  the  south, 
with  both  of  whom  he  maintained  the  most 
constant  correspondence. 

Speaking  of  this  lady,  on  one  occasion, 
said  he,  "  There  is  ever  about  her  a  kind  of 
holy  calm  which  neither  solicits  nor  repels, 
but,  inspiring  the  beholder  with  a  sympa 
thetic  harmony,  fixes  his  gaze  and  insensi 
bly  attracts  him,  until  the  source  of  his 
emotions  becomes  the  object  of  his  desires." 
These  were  his  continual  theme,  and  were 
at  times  alone  capable  of  preventing  his  re 
lapse  into  a  profound  melancholy,  almost 
habitual  to  him  when  withdrawn  from  the 
observation  of  others. 

Such  were  the  appearance,  mind,  charac 
ter,  and  habits  of  my  friend  •  and,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  he  finished  his  col 
legiate  career,  admired  for  his  talents,  es 
teemed  for  his  exemplary  conduct,  little  un- 
2 


14  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

derstood  by  the  many,  fondly  beloved  by 
the  few. 

Still  from  the  confluence  of  so  many  sep 
arately  admirable  endowments,  there  re 
sulted  a  whole,  fearfully  dangerous  to  its 
possessor;  something  that  would  infalli 
bly  attract  temptation,  and  something  that 
might  possibly  betray  to  temptation,  when  it 
came  seemingly  disrobed  of  all  its  evil,  by 
losing  all  its  grossness. 

Our  collegiate  career  finished,  my  friend 
and  the  other  gentleman  from  the  same  sec 
tion  of  country,  resolved  to  repair  to  a  Law 
school  not  far  removed  from  the  University, 
for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  profession 
they  had  adopted.  For  myself,  I  was  unde 
termined  what  profession  to  pursue,  but  re 
calling  to  mind  a  saying  of  Dr.  Moore, 
in  his  travels,  that  no  particular  cast  of 
mind  was  requisite  to  excel  in  the  medical, 
I  at  last  concluded  that  I  was  most  fitted  to 
excel  in  that,  and  accordingly  followed  my 
friend;  presuming  that  a  village  which 
taught  law  would  contain  somebody  capa- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  15 

ble  of  assisting  me  in  the  study  of  medi 
cine. 

Here  we  passed  the  Autumn  and  Winter, 
without  the  occurrence  of  any  remarkable 
incident.  The  habits  of  my  friend  re 
mained  the  same.  He  lived  devoted  to  his 
professional  and  literary  pursuits  and  to 
myself  and  his  other  friend  ;  avoided,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  society  of  his  fellow  students, 
and  withstood  every  gentle  art  of  the  fair, 
to  whose  charms  he  was  peculiarly  suscep 
tible,  to  win  him  to  a  participation  in  their 
pleasures,  in  the  chivalrous  idea  of  being 
entirely  dedicated  to  his  beloved.  At  last, 
came  Spring,  with  her  train  of  pleasing  sym 
phonies,  bright  scenes  and  balmy  odours, 
arid  my  friend  and  I,  responsive  to  her  call, 
threw  down  our  toil,  and  joined  her  dance 
by  every  brook,  through  every  vale,  and 
over  every  mountain  top. 

On  one  of  these  excursions,  which  we 
extended  far  beyond  our  ordinary  limits,  in 
a  sequestered  spot,  embosomed  in  a  valley, 
surrounded  by  fruit  trees  and  empaled  by 


16  THE     GERANIUM    LEAF. 

a  quickset    hedge,  we  camesuddenly  upon 
a  beautiful  cottage. 

Parallel  rows  of  sugar-maple  trees 
shaded  a  spacious  and  extensive  walk, 
which  led  from  the  gate  to  the  portico,  and 
a  rich  variety  of  flowers  and  shrubs,  some 
little  jets  d'eau,  statues  cast  of  plaster  of 
Paris,  in  a  recumbent  attitude  on  the  ver 
dant  banks,  indicated  the  abode  of  retired 
opulence  and  taste.  But  what  remove  can 
we  make  to  free  us  from  the  intrusion  of 
human  passions  or  human  ills  ? 

My  friend  was  delighted,  and  having 
surveyed  it  as  leisurely  as  circumstances 
would  permit,  we  concluded  to  come  again ; 
and  again  and  regularly  at  the  close  of  the 
week,  our  rambles  terminated  in  this  de 
lightful  spot.  Till  at  last,  on  a  lovely  day 
in  the  latter  part  of  June,  having  become 
emboldened  by  meeting  no  one,  we  fol 
lowed  up  the  footpath,  and  were  insensibly 
attracted  to  an  open  window  by  a  display  of 
beautiful  flowers. 

Whilst  intent   upon   admiring   these,    a 


THE     GERANIUM    LEAF.  17 

chubbed  little  girl  straining  her  tiny  arm 
over  the  casement  of  the  window,  tendered 
my  friend  a  leaf  of  geranium.  My  friend, 
though  a  student,  was  not  inapt  at  offices 
of  gallantry,  and  stepping  forward  took  the 
proffered  gift  with  great  sweetness  and 
grace,  saying  in  an  audible  arid  arch  tone, 
partly  to  himself,  and  partly  for  whoever 
might  hear,  "  What  !  so  young,  and  yet 
prefer !  " 

Immediately,  a  lady  appeared,  as  in  the 
act  of  passing  the  window.  She  suddenly 
stopped,  with  affected  surprise,  and  with  an 
air  of  as  affected  innocence,  slightly  bowed, 
and  advancing  to  the  window,  invited  us 
to  come  in  and  refresh  ourselves. 

The  attractions  of  a  line  form  and  com 
manding  stature,  assisted  by  the  effect  of 
black,  hair,  arch  black  eyes,  rosy  cheeks, 
and  a  simple  and  elegant  attire,  unexpect 
edly  breaking  from  amidst  such  an  assem 
blage  of  delights,  were  quite  overpowering. 
She  was  of  an  age  to  have  become  ac 
quainted  with  the  world,  and  through  a 
2* 


18  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

veil  of  assumed  silvan  artlessness,  there 
peered  in  beautiful  relief  an  air  only  to 
be  acquired  by  an  habitual  familiarity  with 
the  most  polished  modes  of  life.  Her  prof 
fered  invitation  being  declined,  after  some 
natural  and  easy  remarks,  she  slid  into  a 
conversation  more  particularly  addressed 
to  my  friend,  which,  increasing  in  gayety 
on  her  part,  finally  relapsed  into  "  that 
sportive  colloquy,  (to  use  the  words  of 
your  countryman,  Dr.  Gillies,  in  his  late 
travels  in  Italy,)  which  touching  slightly 
upon  what  is  felt  most  sensibly,  amuses 
with  perpetual  shadows  of  desired  real 
ities." 

Apprehensive  of  the  consequences  of  a 
more  prolonged  interview,  I  seized  the 
earliest  opportunity  to  induce  my  friend  to 
withdraw,  which  we  finally  did  in  the 
midst  of  a  most  tenderly  expressed  hope  of 
the  siren,  that  accident  might  again  con 
duct  us  to  her  bowers.  The  effect  upon 
my  friend  alarmed  me,  for  I  was  aware  of 
his  susceptibility,  and  knew,  that  he  was 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  19 

already  betrothed.  I  remonstrated  with 
him  upon  the  necessity  of  never  revisiting 
the  spot,  and  I  did  not  relax  my  efforts  till 
I  drew  from  him  a  promise  to  adopt  my 
advice. 

Spring,  Summer,  'Autumn,  flew  away, 
and  Winter  came,  the  harvest-time  of 
Spring's  follies,  when  my  friend  was 
plunged  in  the  deepest  distress.  He  in 
formed  me,  that  his  southern  friend,  to 
whom  he  had  mentioned  the  adventure, 
had,  after  great  persuasion,  prevailed  upon 
him  to  break  his  promise,  and  gratify  the 
curiosity  of  a  friend ;  that  he  had  visited 
the  lady,  who,  though  apprized  of  his  en 
gagement,  courted  and  even  solicited  his 
society,  and  that  the  consequences  were  as 
one  might  imagine  from  his  distress.  His 
first  impulse  was  to  marry  the  lady  whom 
he  thought  he  had  wronged.  I  dissuaded 
him  from  it.  His  next  to  shoot  his 
friend  who  had  badly  counselled  him  and 
seduced  his  weakness.  From  this  I  also 
dissuaded  him,  and  prevailed  upon  him  to 


20  THE    GERANIUM     LEAF. 

accept  my  offices  in  endeavouring  to  rescue 
him  from  his  embarrassment.  For  this  pur 
pose,  I  privately  repaired  to  the  cottage. 

Winter  was  in  the  midst  of  his  iron  rule. 
Over  every  thing  lately  so  verdant  and 
smiling  was  thrown  one  cold  mantle  of 
snow.  Nature  seemed  extinct.  No  fra 
grance  rose  from  her  frozen  altars,  and  her 
musical  interpreters  had  fled.  The  cottage 
stood  silent  and  looked  desolate.  Upon 
knocking,  an  old  domestic  informed  me, 
that,  excepting  the  proprietor  and  his  niece, 
(for  such  was  the  lady  before  alluded  to,) 
the  family  had  returned  to  a  city  in  a 
neighboring  State. 

Upon  requesting  to  see  the  gentleman,  I 
was  ushered  into  a  parlour  where  sat  a  fine 
looking,  elderly  person  whom  it  is  not 
necessary  to  describe  more  particularly ; 
his  head  supported  by  his  hand,  and  his 
eyes  downcast  and  seemingly  fixed  in  deep 
and  sorrowful  meditation.  Upon  present 
ing  myself,  he  rose  up  and  drew  his  aged 
but  tall  figure  into  an  crectness  peculiarly 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  21 

imposing ;  and  as  I  advanced,  slightly  in 
clining  from  his  state,  he  presented  his  hand 
with  great  suavity  of  manner,  yet  with  the 
air  of  one  familiar  with  high  station  and 
military  command.  After  a  suitable  pause, 
I  introduced  myself,  and  the  purpose  of  my 
visit  with  all  possible  delicacy  and  respect. 
In  a  long  and  painful  conversation,  I  re 
counted  the  circumstances  of  my  coming  to 
the  cottage,  described  the  character  and 
situation  of  my  friend,  and  showed  the 
impossibility  of  his  marrying  his  niece. 

Language  cannot  describe  his  distressed 
appearance,  and  the  audible  sobbing  of  a  fe 
male  in  an  adjoining  apartment  heightened 
the  melancholy  of  the  scene.  Our  interview 
resulted  in  the  expression  of  a  wish  to  see 
my  friend.  For  his  niece  had  never  been 
prevailed  upon  to  disclose  his  name,  and 
their  interviews  had  been  stolen,  or  during 
his  absence. 

I  afterwards  accompanied  my  friend  to 
see  him  and  passed  the  day  at  the  cottage. 


22  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

Never   did  my   friend  appear   so  interest 
ing  :  young,   fine   looking,  distressed,    yet 
highly-excited,  after  he  had,   in   his  own 
eloquent  language,  recounted  what  I  had 
faintly  set  forth  before,  when  he   spoke  of 
his  family,  of  his  immutable  attachment  for 
his  betrothed,  the  accidental  meeting  of  the 
gentleman's  niece,  of  his  resolution  to  see 
her  no  more,  of  the  ascendency  of  his  friend's 
persuasion  over  his  better  purpose ;  of  the 
anguish  he  had  suffered  from  sympathy  for 
the  injured  ; — the  venerable  gentleman  was 
so  affected  as  to  be  almost  overcome,  and 
the  more  so,   perhaps,  as,  throughout,  my 
friend   displayed    a    natural   nobleness    of 
character  which  evidently  prepossessed  our 
host  strongly  in  his  favor,  the  moment  I  had 
introduced  him,  and  made  not  the  slightest 
allusion  to  the  imprudent  conduct  of  his 
niece  or  to  her   insinuating  appeals  after 
she  was  apprized  of  my  friend's  situation, 
and  had  every  reason   to  believe,  that  her 
.advances  could  not  eventuate  in  any  hon- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  23 

orable  issue  ;  of  all  which  circumstances,  I 
had  felt  it  my  duty  previously  to  acquaint 
her  protector. 

At  this  interview,  nothing  was  definitive 
ly  settled  ;  and  another  visit  was  solicited 
and  agreed  upon.  On  which  occasion,  I 
found  his  sympathies  strongly  inclining  to 
the  side  of  my  friend,  and  a  disposition  to 
condemn  the  conduct  of  his  niece.  But  it 
was  not  until  I  had  insisted  at  some  length 
upon  the  impolicy  of  giving  publicity  to  the 
affair,  and  had  intimated  the  possession 
of  evidence  through  the  knowledge  of  my 
friend's  companion,  the  disclosure  of  which 
would  as  little  redound  to  the  credit  of  his 
niece,  as  a  public  knowledge  of  the  affair 
would  to  the  honor  of  her  family,  that  the 
difficulty  was  finally  adjusted  by  his  agree 
ing  to  train  up  the  child,  until,  having  be 
come  large,  its  history  might  awaken  cu 
riosity  and  inquiry,  when  my  friend  sol 
emnly  promised  to  remove  and  educate  it. 
My  friend  offered  an  obligation  to  this  ef 
fect  ;  but  the  gentleman,  who  seemed  now 


24  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

to  give  way  to  the  feelings  which  his  duty 
to  his  niece  had  obliged  him  during  the 
pendency  of  the  treaty  with  difficulty  to 
endeavor  to  suppress,  with  tears  in  his  eyes 
declined  it.  And  as  we  were  about  to 
leave,  pressing  his  hand  upon  the  shoulder 
of  my  friend,  said  he,  with  great  solemnity, 
"  My  son,  though  now  advanced,  I  am  well 
versed  in  men,  for  I  have  spent  the  morn 
ing  of  life  with  the  dead,  its  noon  with  the 
living,  and  a  portion  of  its  close  with  my 
self.  Your  youth  and  peculiar  character, 
which  involved  you  in  this  trouble,  interested 
me  in  your  deliverance,  for  rest  assured,  that 
no  prudential  considerations  alone  would 
divert  me  from  exacting  ample  atone 
ment  for  the  purposed,  or  even  accidental 
(unless  under  peculiar  circumstances)  in 
jury  or  dishonor  of  any  member  of  my 
household.  You  come,  too,  from  the  south, 
in  whose  defence  I  have  wasted  no  little  of 
my  health ;  where  I  have  many  friends  and 
acquaintances ;  and  if  I  might  judge  from 
your  name,  appearance,  and  other  circum- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  25 

stances,  you  must  be  nearly  related  to  him 
whose  influence  with  the  British  govern 
ment  I  was  lately  commissioned  to  solicit 
in  relation  to  the  evacuation  of  the  western 
posts ;  nor  should  I  be  surprised  to  learn, 
that  at  the  very  time  I  was  partaking  of 
the  hospitality  of  his  roof  you  were  invading 
the  sanctity  of  mine.     Do  not  however  im 
agine,  that  your  noble-minded  father  or  his 
highly-accomplished  lady  will  ever  be  ap 
prized  by  me  of  the  great  imprudence  of 
their  fondly-cherished  son.     And  as  a  far 
ther  evidence  of  my  interest  in,  and  friend 
ship  for  you,  let  me  counsel  you  to  beware 
of  gilded  temptation,  quick  resolve,  and  sud 
den  action.     I  know  you  well.     You  have 
that  within  and  about  you,  you  little  dream 
of.     In  a  world,  like  yourself,  it  would  con 
duct  you  to  happiness  through  the  path  of 
virtue,  but  in  the  one  I  have  lived  in,  and 
you  are  soon   to  mingle  in,  it  will  betray 
you,  without  extreme  vigilance,  into  strange 
calamity." 

We  had  intended  to  have  completed  the 
3 


26  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

two  years,  but  a  few  months  after  this  oc 
currence,  intelligence  of  the  dangerous  ill 
ness  of  my  father  in  Canada,  obliging  me  to 
leave,  we  all  concluded  to  depart  together. 
As  our  course  lay  in  different  directions, 
my  friend  and  I  were  compelled  to  take  our 
leave  there.  It  was  June,  the  latter  part, 
and  the  evening  preceding  the  morning  of 
our  contemplated  departure,  threading  our 
way  through  the  urchins  on  the  village 
green,  we  repaired,  for  greater  retirement, 
to  an  elevated  spot,  on  the  outskirts,  em 
balmed  in  our  hearts  by  the  memory  of 
many  a  holy  hour.  His  brilliant  career 
finished,  the  weary  sun  had  made  a  golden 
set,  and,  arbitress  in  turn,  the  queen  of 
love,  beckoned  her  starry  train  up  into  the 
blue  firmament ;  until  the  moon,  empress 
of  all,  uprising  slow,  in  full  orbed  majesty, 
threw  the  unbroken  splendour  of  her  coming 
over  hill,  valley,  and  lake.  To  a  reflecting 
mind,  there  is  always  something  melan 
choly  under  circumstances  like  these ;  for, 
amidst  all  the  confused  delights  of  Spring,, 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  27 

like  the  mariner  who  has  reached  a  lovely 
clime  after  a  long  and  wasting  voyage,  we 
instinctively  look  back  and  call  to  mind 
those  of  our  companions,  who,  less  fortu 
nate  than  ourselves,  are  no  longer  with  us 
to  share  our  pleasure  ;  or,  as  this  season  in 
the  northern  latitudes  of  America,  like 
woman  in  those  climes,  is  as  lovely  as  it 
is  evanescent,  we  look  forward  and  draw 
from  the  abode  of  no  distant  future,  images 
of  blight,  decay,  and  death.  But  these  and 
similar  reflections  were  soon  supplanted  by 
those  of  a  more  personal  and  therefore 
more  absorbing  a  character. 

Six  years  had  nearly  elapsed  since  we 
had  become  bosom  friends,  and  one  year 
had  passed  since  the  adventure  at  the  cot 
tage.  We  had  met,  for  ought  I  knew,  for 
the  last  time  ;  and  a  kind  of  presentiment 
of  ill,  whether  caused  by  the  recollection 
of  past  occurrences,  or  by  too  clear  a  per 
ception  of  the  dangerous  infirmities  of  my 
friend,  I  know  not,  seized  upon  my 
heart,  For,  though  greatly  his  inferior 


28  THE    GERANIUM     LEAF. 

in  high  endowments,  perhaps  the  very  me 
diocrity  of  my  character  enabled  me  to  see, 
that  he  possessed  some  lines  of  character 
fearful  as  uncommon ;  arid  since  our  cot 
tage  adventure,  I  could  discover  the  de- 
velopement  of  a  more  intractable  spirit,  and 
a  kind  of  aversion  and  hostility  to  man 
kind.  Add  to  this,  he  was  now  making  his 
transit  from  youth  to  manhood,  when  the 
winds  are  unchained,  and  there  is  no  Ulys 
ses  at  the  helm  !  a  moment  of  crisis  with 
all,  but  with  him  more  terrible  from  the  un 
certain  effects  upon  his  future  conduct  of  a 
rankling  remembrance  of  his  bitter  fore 
taste  of  the  world ;  and  as  the  hoarse  swell 
of  the  ocean  precedes  afar  off  the  coming  of 
the  tempest,  so  the  murmur  of  his  nascent 
passions,  continually  gathering  fierceness 
and  strength,  appeared  to  herald  the  ap 
proach  of  danger,  and  portend  a  stormy 
revolution  in  his  character. 

The  affair  at  the  cottage  I  had  never 
been  able  to  banish  from  his  mind,  and 
the  idea  of  returning  home  with  his  south- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  29 

em  friend  tortured  and  terrified  him. — 
His  first  thought  of  killing  him,  or  as  he 
expressed  himself,  of  taking  off  and  rid 
ding  himself  of  a  base  nature  whom  the 
mistaken  bounty  of  his  father  had  sent 
to  the  North  with  him  as  a  companion 
and  guide  to  his  own  greater  youth  and 
inexperience,  but  who  had  been,  as  he  be 
lieved,  designedly  the  cause  of  his  degra 
dation  to  dishonor,  and,  as  he  feared,  would 
be  the  instrument  of  his  betrayal  to  re 
proach,  was  constantly  recurring.  For 
weeks  previous,  his  mind  had  been  uncom 
monly  dark,  his  spirits  incessantly  agitated, 
and  his  transports  of  passion  sudden,  fre 
quent,  and  frightful.  A  word  or  look  from 
his  fellow-students,  whose  attention  his  dis 
ordered  manner  attracted,  had  been  suffi 
cient  matter  for  collision,  and  I  had  feared 
that  every  sun  would  have  lit  him  to  the 
commission  of  some  fatal  act.  Even  his 
southern  friend  entertained  apprehensions 
for  his  own  personal  safety,  and  had  ap 
prized  me  of  his  secret  intention  to  separate 
3* 


30  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

from  him  on  the  journey,  at  the  earliest  op 
portunity. 

I  had  frequently  expostulated  with  my 
friend,  but  the  voice  which  could  once  ren 
der  him  docile,  was  powerless.  He  had 
become  the  lion  in  his  fever,  he  knew  not 
his  keeper,  he  would  not  he  governed.  Still 
I  dwelt  upon  the  past  in  as  soothing  a  tone, 
and  pictured  the  future  in  as  bright  and  as 
animating  colors,  as  the  time,  place,  and  oc 
casion  would  permit.  And  we  sat  until 
every  sound  of  jocund  merriment  was 
hushed  in  the  village,  light  after  light  had 
disappeared,  its  pleasure- tired  inhabitants 
had  sunk  to  repose  in  visions  of  a  beaute 
ous  morn,  and  all  was  quiet,  save  the  little 
querulous  rivulet  pursuing  its  devious  path 
way  to  the  lake  at  our  feet,  and  the  distant 
waterfall  sending,  as  in  sympathy  of  Na 
ture,  its  plaint  on  the  gusty  night-breeze  to 
the  sighing  forest. 

We  separated,  at  a  late  hour,  to  make 
our  final  preparations  for  our  morning  de 
parture,  under  a  mutual  promise  to  coores- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  31 

pond  with  each  other,  and  a  promise,  on  my 
part,  to  visit  him  at  no  distant  day,  should 
fortune  permit. 

The  death  of  my  father,  which  happen 
ed  before  I  reached  him,  and  the  charge  of 
his  embarrassed  and  widely-separated  af 
fairs,  which  devolved  upon  me  as  eldest 
son,  soon  obliging  me  to  fulfil  but  imper 
fectly  my  first  promise,  and  finally  com 
pelling  its  entire  abandonment,  all  corres 
pondence  ceased.  And  it  was  not  until 
four  or  five  years  had  been  devoted  to  per 
plexing  business,  and  at  the  end  of  this 
period  as  a  requital  of  my  pains,  I  had  the 
satisfaction  of  being  fully  assured,  that  I 
was  dependent  upon  my  own  exertions, 
and  that,  like  many  others,  I  was  obliged 
to  employ  for  my  support  that  professional 
knowledge,  I  had  originally  acquired  as  a 
liberal  accomplishment,  and  I  had  resolved 
to  remove  to  the  West  Indies,  that  I 
thought,  by  stopping  at  the  South,  of  doing 
myself  the  pleasure  to  visit  my  friend,  and 
to  make  some  amends  for  the  neglect  of  my 


32  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

first  promise,  by  affording  him  the  agreea 
ble  surprise  of  an  unexpected  fulfilment  of 
the  second. 

It  was  now  Spring  again  ;  but  no  longer 
Spring  with  me.  Life  had  begun  to  as 
sume  a  more  sober  aspect.  The  period  of 
anticipated  enjoyment  and  independence, 
had  proved  the  commencement  of  solicitude 
and  labor.  Uncertainty  gathered  in  thick 
darkness  upon  the  future,  and  the  world 
once  reflecting  every  gorgeous  hue  from  the 
gay  frostwork  in  which  young  fancy  had 
wrapt  it,  now  stood  before  me,  like  the 
charred  remains  of  some  beautiful  fabric, 
formerly  dedicated  to  bright  illusions,  now 
deserted  of  its  brilliant  throng  of  worship 
pers,  and  disrobed  by  the  flaming  brand  of 
all  its  enchanting  pageantry  and  pleasure's 
cunningly-devised  appliances.  Still  as  we 
bounded  over  the  waves,  and  the  tender 
memories  of  life's  early  morn  passed  in  re 
view  before  me,  every  fountain  of  youthful 
feeling  was,  for  the  moment,  unsealed,  and 
so  abstracted  did  I  become  from  all  that 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  33 

was  passing  around  me,  and  so  absorbed  in 
the  delightful  idea  of  seeing  one  I  so  ten 
derly  loved,  that  the  thought,  natural  arid 
obvious  as  it  was,  never  occurred  to  me, 
that  some  one  among  my  fellow-passengers 
might  be  able  to  inform  me  respecting  my 
friend.  Indeed,  had  I  thought  of  it,  I  know 
not  but  the  desire  of  some  indefinitely-con 
ceived  agreeable  surprise  would  have  de 
terred  me  from  making  the  inquiry  ;  for  as 
to  fear,  every  movement  was  stilled  by  the 
intensity  of  hope. 

Upon   arriving   at   the  city   of ,    I 

eagerly,  but  in  vain,  sought  amidst  every 
group  the  familiar  countenance  of  my 
friend.  Upon  inquiry,  I  found,  that,  soon 
after  his  return  from  the  North,  he  entered 
upon  his  profession  under  the  brightest 
auspices  ;  was  rising  rapidly  when  he  be 
came  engaged  in  an  important  suit  of  pub 
lic  interest,  that  some  collision  ensued  be 
tween  him  and  the  adverse  counsel,  who 
chanced  to  be  his  friend  before  spoken  of, 
Miat  straightway  transpired  some  unknown 


34  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

secret  in  the  family  of  the  lad  y  whose  mar 
riage  with  my  friend  (deferred  till  now  in 
consequence  of  her  delicate  health)  was 
about  to  be  solemnized;  that  my  friend 
suddenly  disappeared,  leaving  no  trace  be 
hind  him;  and  that  the  brother  of  my 
friend  had  challenged  and  shot  the  southern 
gentleman  before  alluded  to. 

The  latter,  as  I  learned,  was  the  son  of 
a  refugee  tory.  The  confiscation  of  his 
paternal  estate,  had,  unfortunately,  still 
left  him  in  possession  of  the  peculiar  vir 
tues  of  that  class  of  revolutionary  worthies. 
He  had  been  educated  by  the  father  of  my 
friend,  partly  from  charity  and  partly  in 
the  hope,  that,  being  much  older,  his  sup 
posed  maturer  judgement  would  qualify  him 
to  subserve  the  purpose  of  a  guardian  or 
protector  to  his  son.  Only  such  considera 
tions,  or  an  extraordinary  love  of  antithesis, 
could  have  ever  suggested  to  a  reasonable 
man  the  idea  of  selecting  such  a  compan 
ion  for  my  friend. 

I  was  also  informed,  that  mv  friend  was  of 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  35 

an  old  English  family  of  great  respectability, 
Which  settled  at  the  South  after  the  separa 
tion  of  the  colonies,  and  at  the  commence 
ment  of  the  crusade  against  nobility  in 
Europe ;  and  that  he  and  the  lady  of  his 
choice  were  alike  universally  admired,  be 
loved,  and  esteemed.  To  all  but  the  gen 
tleman  shot,  whose  memory  was  recalled 
with  a  kind  of  suspicious  horror,  there  was 
but  one  deep  feeling  of  regret,  sympathy, 
and  respect ;  and  a  disposition,  by  their  si 
lence,  to  consign  the  melancholy  affair  to 
oblivion.  The  public  delicacy  in  this  res 
pect  was  strongly  contrasted  with  the  vul 
gar  curiosity  and  gossip  natural  to  some 
communities  on  similar  occasions.  Noth 
ing  was  ventured  beyond  a  conjecture,  that 
the  difficulty  originated  in  some  unknown 
occurrence  at  the  North,  perhaps  not  in 
unison  with  the  general  character  of  my 
friend,  that  his  extreme  sensitiveness,  upon 
its  probable  betrayal  and  exaggeration  or 
misrepresentation  by  his  rival,  had  shrunk 
from  the  consequences  of  its  disclosure,  and 


36  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

sheltered  itself  in  flight.  Further,  they 
sought  not  to  learn,  as  if  apprehensive  of 
confirming  their  surmises  by  the  discovery 
of  something,  they  knew  not  what,  dis 
tressing  to  a  family  they  honored,  and  in 
jurious  to  the  fair  fame  of  one  they  loved. 

"  Twas  all  they  knew,  that  Lara  vras  not  there." 

I  had  not  the  heart  to  make  myself 
known  as  his  friend,  and  immediately  em 
barked  for  the  West  Indies.  I  remained 
there  about  twenty-five  years.  I  then  re 
turned  to  the  States,  learned  that  my  friend 
had  never  been  heard  from,  and  that  all  im 
mediately  interested  in  the  painful  tragedy 
had  been  swept  away  by  the  yellow  fever 
a  few  years  after  my  departure.  Time  and 
absence  having  broken  up  my  associations, 
and  made  me  a  stranger  in  my  native  land, 
for  the  young  had  forgotten  me,  and  the 
old  had  died,  I  concluded  to  travel  for  my 
health  and  amusement.  I  visited  London 
and  afterwards  Paris,  and  there  fell  in  with 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  37 

some  officers  of  your  navy,  on  furlough, 
whom  I  had  seen  in  the  West  Indies.  I 
travelled  through  France,  thence  into  Swit 
zerland.  While  at  Zurich,  I  visited  the 
arsenal  to  see  the  bow  of  William  Tell,  and 
there,  to  my  surprise,  I  met  the  English  of 
ficers  I  had  seen  at  Paris,  who  cordially 
introduced  me  to  their  company  as  their 
American  friend. 

Among  my  new  acquaintances  was  a 
young  officer,  apparently  of  the  rank  of 
eleve  or  midshipman,  who  seemed  to  re 
gard  me  with  a  closeness  I  could  not  elude, 
and  the  expression  of  whose  countenance 
inspired  me  with  feelings  I  could  not  fully 
define.  I  concluded,  finally,  that  he  scru 
tinized  me,  because  I  was  an  American, 
and  that  I  was  attracted  to  him,  because 
he  scrutinized  me. 

On  a  visit  which  I  afterwards  made  to 
see  the  ruins  of  Caesar's  wall,  which  ex 
tended  from  Mont  Jura  to  the  banks  of  lake 
Leman,  we  all  met  again.  At  this  meeting 
the  young  officer  spared  no  pains  to  make 
4 


38  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

my  acquaintance,  nor  attentions  to  concili-* 
ate  my  regard ;  and,  upon  parting,  repeating 
his  previous  invitation,  made  me  promise 
to  visit  him  when  I  came  to  Geneva,  where 
he  had  a  temporary  residence.  He  was 
apparently  between  twenty  and  thirty 
years  of  age,  tall  and  slender.  His  soft 
light  hair,  light  blue  eyes,  pale  cheeks,  and 
an  expansive  brow  shaded  with  thought 
and  premature  sadness,  strangely  contrasted 
with  a  spirited  voice  and  a  peculiarly  proud 
carriage. 

At  Geneva,  I  fulfilled  my  promise.  He 
was  living  at  a  retired  cottage  looking  down 
upon  the  beautiful  lake  of  that  name,  and 
in  the  rear  surrounded  with  precipices  cov 
ered  with  vines.  His  absence  from  the 
apartment,  into  which  I  was  shown,  en 
abled  me  to  observe  what  resources  it  con 
tained  for  the  gratification  of  a  refined, 
simple,  or  luxurious  taste.  The  first  ob 
jects  which  presented  themselves,  upon 
pressing  open  the  door  which  stood  ajar, 
were  two  large  snow  white  hounds,  which 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  39 

lay  side  by  side,  stretched  out  upon  their 
very  chins,  and,  upon  my  entering,  appear 
ed  to  intimate  a  sense  of  their  and  my  wor 
thiness  of  the  society  of  their  master,  by  an 
upward  cast  of  the  eye  without  change  of 
position,  and  two  or  three  thrashing  obei 
sances  with  their  tails.  Farther  on,  in  the 
centre  of  the  room,  which  was  of  middling 
dimensions,  and  whose  walls  and  floor  were 
tastefully  covered,  stood  a  circular  table,  over 
which  was  smoothly  spread  an  ample  rich 
blue  broadcloth  cloak,  with  purple  facings, 
and  supporting,  on  one  side,  a  guitar,  flute, 
and  pieces  of  music  ;  on  the  other,  materi 
als  for  writing  and  drawing,  with  proofs 
of  skill  in  each  art,  in  the  form  of  sketches 
of  scenery  and  scraps  of  poetry ;  and  in 
the  centre  a  vase  of  new-gathered  flowers, 
beautifully  various  in  hue  and  fragrance. 
Upon  the  mantelpiece  was  a  portable  book 
case,  containing  the  choicest  poets,  ancient 
and  modern,  in  their  original  tongues,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  were  sus 
pended,  in  osier  cages,  two  birds  of  Paradise. 


40  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

Under  them  stood  a  sofa,  between  two  win 
dows  which  looked  down  over  a  garden  of 
singular  beauty  upon  the  lake  of  Geneva. 
Upon  the  sofa  lay  various  treatises,  maps, 
and  drawings,  illustrative  of  the  art  of  war. 
The  two  extremities  of  the  room  were 
adorned  with  paintings  and  busts. 

The  young  officer,  in  search  of  whom 
the  cottage  boy  had  been  dispatched,  enter 
ed  at  last,  with  gun,  spaniel,  game,  and 
wild  flowers,  and  clad  in  the  Swiss  cos 
tume.  The  conversation  which  ensued, 
was  of  the  most  interesting  character.  He 
spoke  of  the  countries  he  had  been  visiting 
on  the  continent,  the  distinguished  person 
ages  he  had  met,  the  works  of  art  he  had 
seen,  and  withal  evinced  such  an  acquaint 
ance  with  the  present  and  past,  such  a 
knowledge  of  books  and  of  the  world,  such 
powers  of  reflection,  closeness  of  observa 
tion,  nice  discernment  and  acute  penetration, 
such  sympathy  for  all  that  is  beautiful  in 
nature,  such  enthusiasm  for  all  that  is  no 
ble  in  art  and  character,  that  I  felt  at  first 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  41 

astonished,  and  then  embarrassed  in  the 
thought  that  I  had  so  greatly  underrated 
him,  even  in  the  flattering  estimate  I  had 
previously  formed  of  him  from  our  pre 
ceding  interviews,  and  that  one  of  so  great 
penetration  must  have  discovered  what 
could  not  but  have  been  extremely  pain 
ful  to  a  person  possessed  of  his  sensibility 
and  lofty  pride.  His  inquiries  respecting 
America  were  more  minute  and  extensive 
than  my  long  absence  from  my  native  coun 
try  permitted  me  to  satisfy;  and  I  was  glad 
of  an  opportunity,  presented  by  the  first  re 
mission  of  his  curiosity,  to  request  him  to 
take  his  guitar,  which  he  did,  and,  accom 
panying  it  with  his  voice,  played  and  sang 
in  the  most  ravishing  manner.  The  music 
and  words  were  his  own  composition,  and 
mostly  in  praise  of  beautiful  Italy.  His 
paintings,  being  chiefly  delineations  of  the 
striking  scenes  he  had  witnessed  in  differ 
ent  countries,  were  worthy  of  his  music. 
After  admiring  them  a  long  time,  I  rose 
and  directed  my  attention  to  his  library. 
4* 


42  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

Upon  the  frontispiece  of  several  works  my 
eye  was  arrested  by  seemingly  a  device  rep 
resenting  a  delicate  hand,  tendering  a  Gera 
nium  Leaf,  with  an  asp  entwining  the  stem, 
executed  with  great  fineness,  and  encircled 
by  a  boquet  of  flowers,  and  beneath  were 
the  following  words. 

"  So  che  spesso  tra  i  fiori  e  le  fronde 
Pur  la  serpe  s'asconde,  s'aggira; 
So  che  in  aria  talvolta  s'ammira, 
Una  stella  che  stella  non  e." 

Upon  inquiring  its  meaning,  my  friend 
carelessly  replied,  "  a  mere  fancy  of  my 
father.  But,"  added  he,  "  the  words 
are  from  Metastasio's  Temistocle,  and  sig 
nify,  that  often  the  serpent  nestles  amidst 
leaves  and  flowers,  and  that  we  sometimes 
admire  in  the  air  a  star  which  is  not  a 
star." 

"  And  the  name  of  your  father,"  said  I, 
"  with  your  permission  ?  " 

"  Is  that  you  see  there,"  said  he. 

It  was  a  name  I  had  never  seen  before, 
but  I  remembered  he  had  asked  me,  if  I  had 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  43 

ever  met  such  a  family  name  in  America. 
Turning  over  the  leaves,  I  found  initials 
imperfectly  erased  which  corresponded  to 
the  name  of  my  college  friend.  On  the 
same  page,  in  other  works,  the  same  ap 
peared.  In  the  eagerness  of  the  moment, 
I  turned  round  and  regarded  him  with  an 
intensity  of  scrutiny,  which  was  met  with 
only  an  expression  of  surprise,  an  expres 
sion,  however,  whose  mysterious  familiar 
ity,  as  well  as  others  that  I  had  witnessed 
in  his  countenance,  only  increased  my  cu 
riosity,  and  under  the  new  direction  of  my 
mind,  for  the  first  time,  awakened  sus 
picion. 

After  some  moments,  recovering  myself, 
and  sitting  down  with  as  much  composure 
as  possible,  and  with  the  air  of  one  who 
had  exhausted  all  that  was  curious  in  his 
library,  "Well,"  said  I,  "as  I  have  told 
you  all  about  America,  pray  now  give  me 
some  account  of  England." 

"  Why,  really,"  he  replied,  "  I  know 
much  less  about  England  than  you  may 


44  THE    GERANIUM     LEAF. 

suppose.  For  though  a  pillar  of  her  float 
ing  bulwark,"  said  he,  smiling,  "  I  was 
brought,  up  in  Italy,  and  as  far  as  I  could 
ever  learn,  am  American  born." 

"  Ah  !  "  said  I,  with  surprise.     "Please 
explain." 

"  I  know  little  about  it,"  he  rejoined. 
"  I  can  only  remember  of  being  led  up  and 
down  the  banks  of  a  beautiful  river,  of 
having  been  removed,  and  of  looking  out 
upon  a  frightful  expanse  of  water,  and  of 
finally  being  set  down  in  a  lovely  country, 
where  I  was  brought  up  by  my  father,  who 
devoted  all  his  care  to  my  education,  until 
I  began  to  enter  upon  manhood,  when,  as  I 
understood,  through  the  influence  of  some 
connections  in  England  whom  I  never  saw, 
I  received,  after  some  little  stay  in  England, 
a  commission  in  the  British  navy,  where  I 
now  am.  From  my  father  I  could  never 
learn  more  than  that  he  came  from  one  of 
the  southern  provinces  of  the  States  ;  that 
his  family  was  very  respectable,  but  that 
all  its  members,  together  with  my  mother, 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  45 

I  presume,  having  been  swept  away  by 
some  epidemic,  he  removed  to  Italy,  to  es 
cape  from  scenes,  which  continually  forcing 
upon  him  by  their  presence,  the  memory  of 
his  domestic  calamities,  preyed  upon  his 
health.  His  family  was  a  subject  he  never 
alluded  to  voluntarily,  and  when  pressed 
upon  him,  he  turned  from  it  with  evident 
aversion  and  pain.  Great  as  my  curiosity 
became  with  increasing  years,  my  regard 
for  the  feelings  of  one  I  adored,  and,  upon 
farther  acquaintance  with  mankind,  I  be 
lieve  with  reason,  was  still  greater.  I  have 
always  sought  information  from  your  coun 
trymen,  but  without  success." 

"  Have  the  goodness,"  said  I,   "  to  de 
scribe  your  father." 

"  My  father,"  said  he,  with  emotion,  "no 
longer  lives.  He  fell,  soon  after  I  obtained 
my  commission,  in  an  affair  of  honor,  and 
left  me  alone  in  the  world,  with  little  more 
than  the  memory  of  his  virtues.  For  al 
though  after  I  left  him  I  always  received ' 
liberal  remittances  from  England,  and  since 


46  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

his  death  those  remittances  have  been  in 
creased,  I  know  not  from  whom  they  come, 
nor  how  long  they  will  be  continued." 

Upon  repeating  my  request,  he  described 
the  appearance,  character,  and  mode  of  life 
of  his  father  at  great  length.  And  as  I 
could  not  conceal  my  emotion  while  he  pro 
ceeded,  so  when  he  closed  I  was  entirely 
overcome ;  for  his  father  was  my  friend,  my 
long-lost  friend,  my  bosom  friend  in  hap 
pier  days ;  the  days  of  my  youth  now  van 
ished  !  He,  self-exiled,  long-separated,  and 
afar  from  those  he  loved,  unseen  by  those 
who  loved  him,  lured  by  a  false  star,  had  fal 
len,  untimely  fallen,  forever;  life's  fitful  fe 
ver  ending ;  his  gorgeous  day-spring  closing 
at  last  in  darkness  !  And  before  me, — me, 
now,  alas  !  in  the  solemn  walk  of  nature  how 
changed,  since  last  I  saw  him,  (saw  him 
never  to  see  again,)  and  conscious  of  still 
rapidly  changing,  soon  to  be  sent  away  my 
self, — there  stood — after  the  lapse  of  almost 
thirty  years,  in  a  strange  country,  among 
a  strange  people,  as  it  were  by  a  miracle, 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  47 

and  as  if  in  a  dream,  in  all  the  glory  of  a 
magnificently-endowed  nature  bursting  into 
the  full  bloom  of  manhood's  prime— -his  or 
phan  son  !  whom  I  had  never  seen  till  now, 
and  whose  fate  till  now  I  had  never  known  ; 
— the  bright  offspring  and  melancholy  ac 
cident  of  a  lovely  Spring  day's  chance  ad 
venture  in  the  merry  morn  of  our  lives  ; — 
the  unconscious  source  of  so  much  calamity 
and  sorrow !  Torn  in  tender  infancy  from 
the  mother  who  should  have  cherished  him, 
transplanted  from  the  skies  he  should  have 
loved,  the  land  he  should  have  honored,  to 
another  hemisphere,  and  consigned  to  a 
foreign  service ;  fatherless  and  alone  amidst 
a  world  of  men,  without  the  slightest  clew 
to  his  being,  or  the  responsive  sympathy 
of  one  solitary  kindred  bosom ! 

When  he  had  finished,  regarding  me 
steadfastly,  after  a  short  pause,  said  he,  in 
a  deep  low  voice,  "  Sir,  you  knew  my 
father,  and  know  my  history.  Tell  it  to 
me." 

The  abruptness   of  the  appeal  only  in- 


48  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

creased  my  agitation,  and  fixed  me  in  pro 
found  silence.     I  could  not  but  think,  how 
slight  a  partition  separated  him  from  what 
he  so  intensely  sought  to  know,  and  what 
might  be  the  consequences  of  the  disclosure 
of  such  a  secret  to  such  a  person.     These 
were  but  momentary  reflections,  for  I  was 
determined  not   to   reveal  that  which  his 
father,    my  friend,    had    always  thought 
proper  to  conceal.     Accordingly  recovering 
myself  as  well  as  I  could,  after  a  silence 
which  became  continually  more  embarras 
sing,  I  said,  in  reply,  "The  interest  with 
which  your  personal  history  has  inspired 
me,    may  have   betrayed  me  into  an   ex 
pression  of  sympathy  calculated  to  fill  you 
with   surmises  as  natural  as   they  are  er 
roneous,  and,  to  satisfy  you,  that  my  inter 
est  in  you  is  so  great,  I  am  willing  to  be 
stow  upon  you  a  part  of  a  fortune  which  is 
greater  than  I  have  any  need  of,  and  to  in 
herit  which  I  have  no  immediate  relatives. 
This  was  said  with  emphasis  and  deliber 
ation. 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  49 

For  the  moment,  he  remained  motionless 
and  silent,  but  showed  by  his  countenance, 
that  he  did  not  believe  a  part  of  what  I 
said,  but,  to  relieve  me/rom  embarrassment, 
wished  to  appear  to  credit  me  ;  that  he  be 
lieved  my  motives  honorable  for  concealing 
the  truth ;  and  was  deeply  hurt  by  a  sus 
picion  that  it  was  of  a  nature  that  it  could 
not  be  disclosed,  and  that  he  was  sensibly 
affected  by  my  proposition.  All  this,  and 
more,  I  read  in  his  countenance,  before  his 
reply,  which  was  simply  a  refusal  of  my 
proffered  bounty  in  the  most  grateful  and 
touching  manner. 

Not  wishing  to  remain  longer,  I  reminded 
him  of  the  unexpectedly  protracted  length 
of  my  visit,  of  the  pressure  of  other  claims 
on  my  time,  thanked  him  for  the  pleasure 
he  had  afforded  me,  and  expressing  a  hope 
that  we  should  meet  again,  I  rose  to  retire ; 
when  he  removed  a  gold  ring  from  his  rin 
ger  and  put  it  on  mine,  saying,  it  was  one 
given  him  by  his  father,  and  the  initials 
upon  which,  said  he,  in  a  melancholy  and 
5 


50  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

half  reproachful  tone,  "  you  may  better 
understand  than  myself."  Then  going  to 
his  library,  he  drew  out  from  a  number  of 
papers  a  document  or  letter,  and  saying  it 
was  given  him  by  his  father,  that  he  had 
long  sought  among  Americans  the  person  to 
whom  it  was  addressed,  presented  it  to  me, 
merely  adding,  "you  are  Mr. of  Penn 
sylvania."  To  which  I  replied  in  the  af 
firmative. 

We  then  took  our  final  adieu,  he  seem 
ing  disappointed,  hurt,  and  melancholy. 
This  ring  I  still  wear,  said  the  Amer 
ican,  presenting  his  hand,  and  the  letters 
are  the  initials  of  the  name  of  the  mother 
of  the  young  officer. 

The  letter,  which  I  opened  and  read  as 
soon  as  I  reached  a  place  suitably  retired, 
and  removed  several  envelopes,  was  writ 
ten  in  a  round  Italian  hand,  and  be 
gan  with  stating,  that,  in  despair  of  com 
municating  with  me  in  any  other  way,  af 
ter  many  fruitless  attempts,  he  had  select 
ed  that  particular  mode,  as  a  last  and 


THE     GERANIUM    LEAF.  51 

doubtful  resource.  Then  followed  a  glow 
ing  panegyric  upon  his  son,  an  admonition 
to  beware  of  his  adroitness,  and  a  most  sol 
emn  injunction  not  to  disclose  to  him  his 
history  under  any  consideration ;  for,  that 
having  inherited  some  of  his  father's  infirm 
ities,  it  would  but  cast  a  still  deeper 
shade  over  his  mind,  if  it  did  not  lead  to 
more  fatal  consequences.  The  letter  then 
proceeded  to  state,  in  addition  to  the  par 
ticulars  I  had  already  learnt  in  America,  and 
those  which  his  son  had  communicated  to 
me,  that,  upon  arriving  at  the  North,  he 
found  the  mother  of  his  son  commodiously 
situated  on  the  banks  of  a  river  named  af 
ter  one  of  the  New  England  States,  living 
by  herself,  with  her  son,  neglected,  so  far  as 
regarded  open  intercourse,  by  all  her  family, 
excepting  her  uncle,  who  had  ever  repro 
bated  the  conduct  of  the  family  in  this  res 
pect,  and  so  changed  by  grief  as  to  be  hardly 
recognized  ;  that  her  cheeks,  once  so  bright, 
were  pale  and  wasted  ;  her  once  sparkling 
eye  faded ;  her  raven  locks  yielding  to  the 


52  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

effects  of  grief,  and  her  animation  of  man 
ner  and  vivacity  of  speech  entirely  gone. 
That  without  apprizing  her  of  the  new  mis 
fortune  that  had  befallen  him,  he  spent  sev 
eral  days  endeavoring  to  assuage  her  sor 
row,  and  to  open  her  mind  anew  to  images 
of  hope;  that  her  only  reply  to  all  his  kind 
endeavours  to  wean  her  from  her  melan 
choly,  was,  that  she  had  no  desire  to  live ; 
that  she  had  seen  the  world  under  its  bright 
est  and  darkest  aspect,  and  was  insensible 
alike  to  its  pleasures  and  pains  ;  that  she 
cherished  no  unkind  feelings  towards  her 
family,  for  having  thought  proper  to  punish 
with  such  extreme  rigor  her  first  and  only 
transgression,  and  as  she  felt  she  had  ob 
tained  forgiveness  from  God,  so  she  hoped, 
that  my  friend,  as  her  uncle  had  done, 
would  also  forgive  her  for  having  been  so  far 
betrayed  by  the  strength  of  a  woman's  love 
as  to  have  sought  by  means  of  a  greater 
knowledge  of  the  world  than  he  possessed, 
to  detach  him  from  the  lady  he  loved, 
and  failing  in  her  design,  to  have  allured 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  53 

him  from  the  path  of  duty,  and  to  have 
proved  to  him  a  source  of  so  much  trouble 
and  chagrin ;  and,  finally,  that  as  she  felt 
her  dissolution  to  be  fast  approaching,  and 
as  it  was  the  desire  of  the  family,  she  was 
reconciled  to  part  with  her  son,  who, 
though  her  only  consolation,  was  a  conso 
lation  she  could  enjoy  but  a  short  time 
longer.  The  letter  also  stated,  that  before 
leaving  her,  he  effected  a  reconciliation  be 
tween  her  and  her  family,  that,  through 
the  aid  of  his  brother,  and  a  connection  in 
England,  his  only  confidants,  he  had, 
agreeably  to  his  promise,  remitted  her,  soon 
after  leaving,  a  very  considerable  sum  of 
money;  that  through  the  agency  of  the 
same  person  in  England,  he  had  settled  one 
half  of  the  residue  of  his  property  upon  his 
son,  when  he  entered  the  navy,  and  that  he 
had  made  provision,  in  the  event  of  his 
own  death,  for  the  settlement  of  the  remain 
der  upon  him.  The  letter  concluded  with 
a  description  of  his  villa,  a  pressing  invi 
tation  to  visit  him,  if  he  were  alive,  upon 
5* 


54  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

the  receipt  of  this  letter ;  and  if  not,  to  oblige 
him  by  acting,  as  far  as  possible,  as  a  father 
to  his  son.  It  finally  ended,  with  saying, 
that  he  was  so  tugged  with  disaster,  so 
weary  of  the  world,  had  become  so  extreme 
ly  familiar  with  dark  thoughts,  that  he 
prayed  for  no  higher  blessing  than  to  be 
peaceably  restored  to  the  bosom  of  that 
earth  which  enfolded  the  remains  of  his 
father,  mother,  brother,  the  lady  of  his 
youthful  love,  and  the  mother  of  his  boy. 

Before  leaving  Geneva,  I  made  an  invest 
ment  of  a  part  of  my  fortune,  in  the  name, 
and  for  the  benefit  of  his  son,  of  which  he 
was  apprized  by  letter.  "  And  such,"  said 
1  "  to  the  American,  were  the  long  train  of 
consequences,  resulting  from  that  simple 
act  of  presenting  a  Geranium  Leaf,  or 
rather,"  said  I,  upon  observing  a  dissenting 
expression  in  his  countenance,  "  the  conse 
quences  of  a  young  man  having  yielded  to 
the  persuasion  of  a  vicious  companion, 
rather  than  be  guided  by  the  counsels  of  a 
true  friend  !  " 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  55 

"No,"  said  he,  "  they  were  not  all  the 
consequences,  for  two  weeks  afterwards  that 
young  officer  threw  himself  into  the  lake  of 
Geneva !  " 

Being  accustomed  to  make  short  excur 
sions  without  acquainting  any  one,  his  ab 
sence  was  little  regarded,  except  by  Carlo, 
his  dog,  (whose  constant  moaning  and  run 
ning  back  and  forth  to  a  remote  part  of  the 
lake,  were  thought  to  proceed  from  his  dis 
tress  at  being  left  behind  by  his  master,) 
until  a  body  was  taken  up  by  a  pleasure 
boat,  among  a  party  of  whom  it  had  drifted 
one  moonlight  night,  nearly  a  week  after 
his  disappearance.     When  found,  he  bore 
few  traces  of  what  he  once  was,  and  but 
for  his  dress,  which  was  torn,  and  the  min 
iature  of  a  lady,  which  the  action  of  the 
water  or  something  else  had  detached  from 
its  sacred  resting-place  and  exposed  to  view, 
could  not  have  been  identified  by  his  most 
intimate  brother  officers,  who  were  called  to 
examine  it.     His   sudden  death  caused  a 
great  sensation  even  in  a  country  where 


56  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

such  instances  are  not  uncommon,  and  his 
remains,  which  was  interred  near  the  cot 
tage,  were  attended  to  the  grave  by  a  vast 
concourse  of  people,  native  inhabitants  as 
well  as  resident  strangers ;  and  all  the  Swiss 
girls,  far  and  near,  whose  acquaintance  he 
had  made  by  stopping  at  the  cottages,  in 
his  excursions  among  the  mountains,  closed 
the  extended  line  of  procession,  following 
on  foot,  dressed  in  white  tunics  and  straw 
hats,  and  bearing  wreaths  of  flowers,  which 
they  finally  deposited  upon  his  grave. 

These  particulars  I  learned  upon  my  return 
to  Geneva,  whither  I  repaired  as  soon  as  I 
was  apprized  of  what  had  happened,  but  not 
in  season  to  participate  in  the  solemnities 
of  the  sad  occasion.  Still  I  found,  though 
nearly  a  week  had  elapsed,  that  the  public 
mind  had  not  recovered  from  the  impression 
produced  by  the  melancholy  occurrence.  In 
deed  in  no  country,  as  in  Switzerland,  does 
the  death  of  a  stranger  seem  to  awaken  such 
tender  emotions,  nor  do  the  sympathies,  else 
where,  appear  to  be  so  alive  to  every  appeal 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  57 

to  their  goodness.  But  there  were  circum 
stances  accompanying  the  death  of  this 
young  officer,  independently  of  the  general 
interest  his  personal  character  had  in 
spired,  calculated  to  present  this  beautiful 
trait  in  the  Swiss  character  in  its  most 
touching  light,  and  which  made  the  grave 
a  place  of  continual  resort. 

The  very  day  I  reached  Geneva,  I  sat  out 
to  visit  it ;  and  a  little  before  sunset  knocked 
at  the  door  of  the  cottage,  which  stood  open. 
No  one  coming,  I  walked  into  the  same  room 
into  which  I  was  shown  before.  Except 
ing  in  the  additional  company  of  a  motherly 
hen  (who  had  walked  in  like  myself) 
chasing  the  summer  fly  across  the  carpet,  or 
clucking  her  unfeathered  brood  to  seize  an 
insect  plucked  from  the  neglected  corners  of 
the  room,  no  appearance  of  change  was 
perceptible.  The  very  hounds  lay  there 
as  before,  but  started  up,  as  I  entered  this 
time,  smelt  of  me,  turned  away,  and  sunk 
down  again.  In  a  few  moments  the  good 
old  lady  came  in  from  out  of  doors  with  a 


58  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

bundle  of  fagots,  but  no  sooner  recognized 
me,  than  dropping  them,  she  started  back, 
lifted  up  her  hands,  and  exclaimed,  "  young 
master  is  dead  !  young  master  is  dead  !  " 
And,  in  a  tumult  of  grief,  hurrying  to  a 
chair,  she  threw  herself  down,  and  buried 
her  face  in  her  hands,  crying,  "Sylvy  will 
die  too  !  Sylvy  will  die  too  !  " 

I  told  her,  that  I  was  already  informed 
of  the  sad  occurrence,  and  would  like  to 
know  the  place  of  his  burial. 

"  O  !  "  said  she,  "  take  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  or  follow  the  path  up  the  precipice, 
back  of  the  cottage,  till  you  come  to  a  road  ; 
then  go  up  the  mountain,  and  down  the 
other  side ; — you  will  find  them  all  there." 

I  followed  the  latter  direction.  Beyond 
the  precipices,  at  the  bottom,  on  the  other 
side,  in  the  road,  stood  a  splendid  equipage 
in  charge  of  an  English  footman  in  rich 
livery,  and,  up  the  mountain,  were  slowly 
ascending  a  lady  and  an  officer  of  the  navy, 
carrying  a  little  girl.  We  reached  the  sum 
mit  nearly  at  the  same  moment,  and,  de- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  59 

scending  midway  down  on  the  other  side, 
we  all  involuntarily  halted,  as  we  caught  a 
glimpse  through  the  green  woof  of  vines  and 
foliage,  of  the  scene  below. 

The  spot  selected  for  the  grave  was  a 
little  grotto,  clothed  in  smooth,  short, 
bright  greensward,  slightly  undulating  on  its 
surface,  almost  surrounded  by  the  thickly- 
wooded  heights  on  which  we  were  standing, 
and,  whose  tiers  of  yews  and  sycamores,  one 
below  the  other,  descending  to  it,  formed 
a  sort  of  amphitheatre  to  which  the  site  of 
the  grave,  under  other  circumstances,  might 
have  seemed  a  verdant  stage.  The  only 
opening  was  on  the  west,  to  the  lake,  over 
which  the  farewell  beams  of  the  sun  were 
streaming  upon  the  grave.  The  yews  and 
sycamores,  shooting  out  obliquely,  on  either 
side  of  the  sloping  heights,  near  their  base, 
which,  gradually  converging,  formed  the  lit 
tle  area  or  grotto  above  described,  inter 
locked  their  aged  limbs,  interlaced  with 
vines,  and  made  a  solemn  canopy  high  in 
the  air  over  the  grave. 


60  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

"  How    sorrowful !     How  sorrowful !  '* 
said   the  lady,  lifting  up  her  hands,   and 
speaking  in  a  low  voice,   as  soon  as  her 
recovery  from  the  shock,  occasioned  by  the 
first  sight  of  the  spectacle  below,  enabled 
her  to  give  utterance  to  her  emotions  and 
interpret  the  profound  silence  of  our  hearts. 
"  That,"  said  she,  continuing  in  a  low  tone, 
"  seated  there,  upon  the  mat,  with  down 
cast  eyes,  her  cheek  supported  by  her  hand, 
and  her  arm  resting  upon  the  head  of  the 
grave,  must  be  Sylvia,  the  widow's  daugh 
ter.     Dear  creature,  how  lovely,  yet  wasted 
and  desolate  she  looks  !     Her  little  heart 
seems  broken  !     The  fountain  of  her  tears 
exhausted !     All  consciousness  lost  in  the 
absorbing   sentiment  of  her  bereavement ! 
See  her  young  companion  kneeling  before 
her  !  with  what  tenderness  she  clasps  with 
one  hand  the  neck  of  the  little  sufferer,  and 
with  the  other  smooths  her  neglected  locks  ! 
How  affectionately  she  kisses  her,  and  seems 
to  say,  '  Sylvy  look  up  ! ' 

After  a  moment's  pause,  said  the  gentle- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  61 

man,  ''that,  by  her  side,  must  be  Carlo, 
his  old  favorite  spaniel,  which  was  present 
ed  him  by  his  father,  and  has  been  with 
him  through  all  his  travels.  How  famished 
he  is  !  How  piteous  he  looks  !  It  is 
thought  the  marks  of  violence  upon  his 
master's  dress  were  made  by  Carlo,  in  his 
attempt  to  rescue  him  and  defeat  his  pur 
pose,  or  in  endeavoring  afterwards  to  draw 
him  to  the  shore.  It  is  said  he  followed 
the  hearse  to  the  grave,  and  will  not  leave 
the  spot." 

"  But  see,"  said  the  lady,  "  that  pretty 
Swiss  girl  with  a  basin  of  milk,  hanging 
over  him  !  How  fondly  she  caresses  him 
with  her  hand,  and,  in  her  fondness,  almost 
shrouds  poor  Carlo's  vacant  gaze  with  her 
long  dark  streaming  tresses!  How  be 
seechingly  she  seems  to  say,  £  drink,  pretty 
Carlo,  drink  !  '  And  those  two  others  look 
ing  on,  their  hats  suspended  from  their 
arms  and  holding  their  white  kirtles  to  their 
eyes!  How  touchingly  their  neat  attire 
contrasts  with  the  sorrow  depicted  in  their 
6 


62  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

countenances,  and  which  speaks  in  their 
silent  stillness  more  loudly  than  oratory  !  " 

"  They  moan  with  their  hearts,"  said 
the  gentleman.  "And  the  bosom,  for 
whose  coldness  so  many  hearts  are  break 
ing,  how  unconscious  it  sleeps  below  !  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  lady,  "  this  will  be  heavy 
news  for  Miss  E.  of  Bath.  I  am  happy, 
my  dear  William,  that  Lieut.  S.,  and  not 
you,  is  charged  with  the  commission  of  con 
veying  to  her  the  last  sad  memorials  of  the 
love  of  one  she  prized  above  all  others. 
Does  Sylvia  know,  do  you  think,  that  he, 
for  love  of  whom  she  is  dying,  could  never 
have  shared  the  sentiments  he  inspired?  " 

"  I  do  not,"  said  the  gentleman,  "  but  it 
is  said,  he  has  left  her  and  her  widowed 
mother  ample  means  of  support,  which  he 
lately  derived  from  the  generosity  of  a 
stranger,  whose  regard  he  had  strongly  en 
listed." 

"I  fear,"  said  the  lady,  "she  will  never 
live  to  enjoy  them.  Look,  see  her  smile  as 
she  plucks  the  greensward  from  the  hil- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  63 

lock !  How  abstracted  from  all  around 
her !  Poor  creature,  you  will  soon  be  at 
rest,  and  as  unconscious  as  him  you  have 
lost !  " 

"  There,"  said  the  gentleman,  "is  a 
woman's  love  !  This,  then,  is  the  world  ! 
this  is  life!  this  human  destiny!  What 
terrible  suffering  through  the  unsearchable 
ways  of  Providence  we  are  called  to  en 
counter  !  " 

"  Terrible,  indeed,"  said  the  lady,  burst 
ing  into  tears  as  she  bent  her  gaze  upon  his 
countenance  lit  with  the  glow  of  manly 
beauty,  the  intelligence  of  a  gifted  mind, 
and  the  sensibility  of  a  noble  bosom, 
"  terrible,  even  the  thought,  William,  that 
those  who  love  must  one  day  separate  !  " 

"  We  cannot  help  it,  my  dear,"  said  her 
husband  in  a  soft  soothing  tone,  "  all  that 
live  must  die,  passing  though  nature  to 
eternity." 

At  this  moment,  the  child,  which  had 
been  amusing  itself  with  picking  berries, 


64  THE    GERANIUM     LEAF. 

came  tottering  over  the  low  bushes  to  its 
mother,  seized  her  gown,  and  looking  up 
in  her  face,  said,  "  Ma,  ma,  what  you  cry 
ing  for  ?  " 

"  Hush,  my  child,"  said  her  father,  in  a 
low  voice,  and  raising  her  in  his  arms,  di 
rected  her  eye  to  the  scene  which  had 
awakened  the  painful  reflections  of  her 
mother. 

The  child  looked  for  some  time  with 
dumb  surprise,  and  as  if  at  a  loss  to  com 
prehend  its  meaning.  But  soon  catching, 
as  by  sympathy,  the  feeling  of  sorrow 
which  pervaded  the  objects  of  its  attention, 
its  countenance  settled  into  an  expression 
of  sadness,  and  without  withdrawing  its 
eyes,  said  to  its  father,  "  What  they  hurt 
ing  that  poor  dog  and  woman  for?" 

"  Nobody  is  hurting  them,  my  child," 
said  the  father.  They  are  sick.  They 
have  lost  one  whom  they  loved  more  than 
you  can  love  papa,  mamma,  or  your  little 
brother." 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  65 

"  Where  is  he?"  said  the  child. 

"  Under  that  little  green  pillow,"  replied 
the  father. 

"  Won't  he  never  come  back  again  ?" 

"  Never,"  said  the  father. 

"  My  papa  will  never  go  away." 

"  My  child,"  said  the  father,  annoyed  or 
affected  by  the  simplicity  of  her  prattle,  and 
setting  her  down,  "  go  and  pick  some  ber 
ries  ;  you  cannot  understand  these  things 


"  I  pray  it  may  be  long  before  my  dar 
ling  can,  from  experience,"  said  her  sob 
bing  mother. 

At  this  moment  came  round  the  shore  of 
the  lake  at  the  base  of  the  hill,  and  ap 
proached  the  grave,  a  party  of  maidens; 
in  their  pretty  features,  youthful  appear 
ance,  neat  attire,  and  simple  manners, 
scarce  distinguishable  from  those  already 
there.  They  replaced  the  flowers  upon 
the  grave  with  the  newly  gathered  ones 
they  bore  in  their  hands,  and  each,  stoop- 
6* 


66  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

ing  in  turn,  kissed  Sylvia  tenderly.  At 
the  signal  of  one  more  matronly  than  the 
rest,  they  then  formed  a  circle  round  the 
grave,  enclosing  alike  poor  Sylvia  and  Car 
lo,  and  knelt  down  in  silence.  The  bell 
now  from  St.  Mary's  Abbey,  on  a  distant 
mountain,  was  faintly  heard  tolling  the 
knell  of  parting  day,  and,  precisely  at  this 
moment,  they  began  to  chant  a  vesper 
hym.  So  soft  was  the  melody,  that  its  last 
strains,  as  they  died  away  in  the  long 
aisles  of  the  forest,  seemed  like  the  silver 
tones  of  the  seraphs,  vanishing  in  the  clouds, 
with  some  sister  of  earth,  borne  to  the  home 
of  the  blest.  The  chant  ended,  they  rose, 
and  having  patted  Carlo  kindly,  and  adjust 
ed  his  bed  for  the  night,  four  of  them  gen 
tly  raised  the  mat  upon  which  Sylvia  was 
seated,  and  as  she  sunk  back  almost  life 
less,  and  clasped  with  her  arms  the  neck 
of  the  one  on  each  side  of  her  nearest  to 
her  hands,  if  not  dearest  to  her  heart,  they 
bore  her  off,  followed  by  all  the  rest,  and 


GERANIUM    LEAF.  67 

taking  the  shore,  disappeared  the  way  they 
came. 

"  How  solemn  !  How  solemn  ! "  said 
the  lady  as  she  turned  to  leave  the  spot. 
"  My  dear,"  she  added,  speaking  in  a  low 
voice  to  her  husband,  who  remained  mo 
tionless,  "  let  us  go.  Night  is  coming,  and 
our  stranger  friend,  who  lingers,  may  wait 
our  retirement.'7 

The  gentleman  started  as  from  a  reverie, 
and,  taking  up  his  daughter,  began  to  de 
scend.  When  nearly  out  of  hearing,  said 
he  with  energy  as  he  raised  his  right  arm 
with  vehemence,  t:  Caroline,  should  you 
survive  me,  God  grant,  that  the  last  time 
your  eyes  are  turned  upon  me,  I  may  be  in 
health.  Let  me  die  on  shipboard,  fighting 
the  enemies  of  my  country." 

The  image  of  the  sun,  already  set,  was 
now  faintly  painted  on  the  western  hori 
zon,  and  the  robin,  from  the  lofty  summit  of 
the  yew-tree,  overhead,  had  already  car 
olled  his  farewell  lay.  The  little  linnet, 


68  THE    GERANIUM    LEAF. 

scared  by  the  scenes  of  day,  returned  with 
the   return  of    dusk,    and,    hopping  from 
sprig  to  sprig,  slid  softly  into  her  nest  in 
the  overhanging  canopy  above  the  grave. 
The  lowing  of  the  kine,  browsing  home 
ward  in   the  valleys,  waxed  fainter  and 
fainter,  and  the  blithe  hallooing  of  the  shep 
herds,  from  mountain  to  mountain,  coming 
down  to  pen  their  flocks,  entirely  ceased. 
The  evening  insect  was  already  upon  his 
droning  wing,  the  glow  worm  in  the  thick 
covert  began  to  trim  his  ineffectual  fires,  and 
the  quiet  waters  of  the  lake,  beneath  the 
returning  footsteps  of  the  night-breeze,  were 
heard  to  whisper  along   the  shore.      Still 
I  lingered,  and  lingered,  repassing  in  my 
mind  the  painful  passages  of  a  painful  life, 
and  contemplating  before  me,  in  my  ad 
vanced  years,  the  dark  issue  of  one  of  those 
adventures,  which,  when  the  day  star  of 
youth  was  on  high,  had  struck  me  as  so 
enchanting.      I   thought   of  my   southern 
friend,  and  wept  aloud.    And  the  very  out- 


THE    GERANIUM    LEAF.  69 

lines  of  Carlo's  unaltered  mein,  were  blend 
ed  with  the  shadows  around  him,  before  I 
could  tear  myself  from  the  spot,  and  leave 
the  body  of  his  son,  and  his  dying  dog,  to 
the  damp  of  nightfall  and  the  solitude  of 
nature." 


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